I think you actually have to get to the point that your realize they are two different games. And I think they should be. I love Sims 3, but I really am enjoying Sims 4, and can't wait to see what really becomes of it. I will not abandon Sims 3, or 2 or 1. I have them all. I don't want them all to be the same.
I love this attitude about the games and I wish more people would see it like that. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I just am worried people are going to give up on TS4 too fast and it won't be good for the franchise. I completely agree this game should have been delayed for another year or so. They could have kept churning out TS3 content in the store in the meantime.
I fired up Sims 3 the other day, with all of its expansions. About 10 or 15 minutes in and I realized the only thing I missed was CAST. The sims were so lifeless and dull. The lack of multitasking made me really angry. Not to mention the sims themselves were all so unattractive! It made me realize I truly love The Sims 4. With expansions and further content this game will be unstoppable and I truly hope the naysayers won't give up on it and it give it another chance. I guess I don't understand the extreme negativity. As somebody who has played every single sims game I just see so much greatness in this game. While I am the first to agree it is missing some glaring things like toddlers and family trees, it doesn't detract from the tons of stuff that is in it already! The child stage was made flawlessly. There are TONS of romantic interactions, more than TS3 had after every single expansion! Heck there is so much nuanced and varied interactions from sim to sim period. Why are the negative people ignoring the heaps of sim to sim interactions which were BEGGED for during TS3? I honestly don't understand the venom thrown towards this game but oh well it doesn't detract from my love of it.
Well, for once, I never considered the sims in TS3 lifeless or dull. I don't see any promise or greatness in TS4, I see it like a reboot of TS1/TS2 with very little augmentations and a lot of missing ones. My play style is gone, so I can't get into the game period. TS3 caters to my play style and gives me pile over pile of gameplay and content, and once I adjust the game to my taste, it's perfect for my playstyle. The art style is not of my taste whatsoever either, and while the sims look more aesthetically pleasing than in TS3, they look like they were wrapped in plastic and molded from clay.
I've also played since TS1 which I got in 2001. TS4 is not balanced whatsoever; you got a lot of this very specific feature, while you left out a lot of other features. And personally, I don't mind whether there's a lot of interactions or a decent amount of them, they will all get boring eventually for me given I rarely play the game admiring the animations or zooming in. My playstyle is more grounded on gameplay and content, and as long as I've got that, I'm happy. The feeling that I got after 34 hours of TS4 and firing up TS3 was "I'm finally back home"
I completely agree with you about TS4 leaving out many features and some are glaringly stupid decisions on their part. Whose genius idea was it to leave out toddlers and family trees?! Crazy. I loved The Sims 3 for all those years though the past year of it I got antsy mainly in anticipation of TS4. I am thrilled you find TS3 full of life. I still have it installed and don't plan on uninstalling just yet. I like to go back to past sims games every now and then. Maybe if I go back to my TS3 simmies here and there I will play more than 15 minutes lol. Anyway, us simmers are a passionate bunch which is awesome. There is no other gaming franchise like The Sims and there never will be. I just really hope EA can add those must-have features to this game and get the fans coming back.
Well, let's see. I think the last estimate was that the game has sold over a million copies or so. Even if only a fraction of the people who bought it feel disappointed, and another fraction of those are bored or otherwise tired of this game and post on this forum, that's still a heck of a lot of "this thread again" posts you can look forward to. Especially considering how many people are disappointed with the game! LOL
The Sims
Where are we going, and why am I in this hand basket?!
I fired up Sims 3 the other day, with all of its expansions. About 10 or 15 minutes in and I realized the only thing I missed was CAST. The sims were so lifeless and dull. The lack of multitasking made me really angry. Not to mention the sims themselves were all so unattractive! It made me realize I truly love The Sims 4. With expansions and further content this game will be unstoppable and I truly hope the naysayers won't give up on it and it give it another chance. I guess I don't understand the extreme negativity. As somebody who has played every single sims game I just see so much greatness in this game. While I am the first to agree it is missing some glaring things like toddlers and family trees, it doesn't detract from the tons of stuff that is in it already! The child stage was made flawlessly. There are TONS of romantic interactions, more than TS3 had after every single expansion! Heck there is so much nuanced and varied interactions from sim to sim period. Why are the negative people ignoring the heaps of sim to sim interactions which were BEGGED for during TS3? I honestly don't understand the venom thrown towards this game but oh well it doesn't detract from my love of it.
Well, for once, I never considered the sims in TS3 lifeless or dull. I don't see any promise or greatness in TS4, I see it like a reboot of TS1/TS2 with very little augmentations and a lot of missing ones. My play style is gone, so I can't get into the game period. TS3 caters to my play style and gives me pile over pile of gameplay and content, and once I adjust the game to my taste, it's perfect for my playstyle. The art style is not of my taste whatsoever either, and while the sims look more aesthetically pleasing than in TS3, they look like they were wrapped in plastic and molded from clay.
I've also played since TS1 which I got in 2001. TS4 is not balanced whatsoever; you got a lot of this very specific feature, while you left out a lot of other features. And personally, I don't mind whether there's a lot of interactions or a decent amount of them, they will all get boring eventually for me given I rarely play the game admiring the animations or zooming in. My playstyle is more grounded on gameplay and content, and as long as I've got that, I'm happy. The feeling that I got after 34 hours of TS4 and firing up TS3 was "I'm finally back home"
I completely agree with you about TS4 leaving out many features and some are glaringly stupid decisions on their part. Whose genius idea was it to leave out toddlers and family trees?! Crazy. I loved The Sims 3 for all those years though the past year of it I got antsy mainly in anticipation of TS4. I am thrilled you find TS3 full of life. I still have it installed and don't plan on uninstalling just yet. I like to go back to past sims games every now and then. Maybe if I go back to my TS3 simmies here and there I will play more than 15 minutes lol. Anyway, us simmers are a passionate bunch which is awesome. There is no other gaming franchise like The Sims and there never will be. I just really hope EA can add those must-have features to this game and get the fans coming back.
I have TS1, TS2 and TS3 installed and don't really plan to uninstall any of them anytime soon. My issue is, well, I don't blindly bash games, and I will equally bash a game I absolutely love. For example, TS3. I love it, it's my favorite and it made my play style finally come true. But dear goodness is it broken. I run the game with 26 mods in it (some made by others, some made by me), most of which function as fixes and maintenance/corruption-prevention and the other bunch augment and increase the gameplay giving me options that should've been there. So in a sense, I don't play TS3, I play a sort of TS3.5 which runs like a dream and it's absolutely fantastic, a next-gen advanced Sims game. But that wasn't the developers, that was people who dedicated years to provide the community with a great experience for free. Hence, I can't tell anyone that TS3 is a great game as is because I don't play TS3 as is. As it comes, there's a lot in it that's flat out bogus and broken. Since it was the first Sims game that actually gave me my dream play style, I decided to put up with it and also modify the game to suit my style. But it doesn't change the fact that TS3 was, despite being a game that tried to move forward the series, very flawed as is. Because of that, I have very little respect as far as programming goes for the developers, and equally for EA's awful management. That, and because of their stance regarding TS5.
As for TS4, I can't see it as a new game at all. The core of TS4 screams TS1/TS2 left and right, nothing really screams out "This is a brand new game". A sequel at the very least should maintain the status quo, augment what was already there and/or innovate. Don't get me wrong, I'd be all for a The Sims 2 Reboot if they could execute it right, but it was named The Sims 4, so I was expecting an actual sequel/continuation of the series. I'm happy to skip TS4 completely as I don't feel I'm missing out on much if I don't have my play style anymore, but I'm not by any means abandoning it. I love the franchise. The only difference this time is, I'm going to wait quite a bit, I'm not going to buy anything that comes out in hopes of it getting better. I'll sit and watch the direction this game takes and not gamble my money. If by some miracle they get their act together, great, I'll catch up. But I'll have that ease of mind of knowing that I'm going to buy something I'm definitely going to enjoy, as opposed to buying EPs/SPs the second they come out.
Yes, I use CC. And for the record, if I played 4 right now I'd CC the heck out of that. That is a non-issue.
All of these pictures look amazing! I also used cc in TS3 & the sims looked fabulous! It's a completely different art style than TS4, but I am ready to move on.
Thanks! While I am kind of sad that EA has finished with TS3, I am actually kind of happy, too. I am slowly working on making the game on my computer very personal to me. There is a world of great CC out there from a simple lipgloss to curved fencing to awesome cars to cute clothes for toddlers.. the list is long. I have learned a lot about CC along the way and now I feel safe adding it to my game.
The same with mods! There are so many, I find out often of a mod out there that I 'need' to have. I've got one to stop the routing failure, I've got one to stop foot tapping, got one to adjust the lighting in the game, got one to stop the baby from being put on the floor between interactions with the changing table.... got a load of Nraas mods and looking at more, so many tweaks big and small to allow me to take this game and make it mine.
I know what's in the game and I know what isn't coming. I can just relax about it and enjoy it. No more wondering if a patch or EP is going to break something. It is a very comfortable place to be and I love it more every time I play. There is far too much for me to do that I have not done in this game that I don't really need to spend my time stressing about 4. I wish the best for it, always. I hope someday it becomes a game which I can fall in love with and truly enjoy but I'm ok waiting until that happens. If it does. If I didn't like 3 or if it didn't run like it does on my computer, I'd be a whole lot more vocal than I am now about what changes I'd love to see for 4.
To be honest I am not very happy with EA at this time. I feel like the woman who gets to watch the love of her life prance about with a much too young woman making an absolute behind of himself while my heart breaks. It feels like the Sims 4 is EA's midlife crisis and doing all sorts of weird plum.
Sims 4 is the one that seems archaic to me. I still see it as a modern Sims 1. I literally almost fell asleep playing it and so far, I haven't touched the game in nearly two months.
Go back and play 2 or 3 base game only. No mods or cc allowed. They were boring. Going from 2 to 3 was heartbreaking. All those rabbit holes - an open world but you couldn't really go anywhere. Base games get boring fast because there isn't so much to do. I don't know what direction 4 will go but I'm still hopeful that it will get better. I like some parts of it a lot as a place to start.
Go back and play 2 or 3 base game only. No mods or cc allowed. They were boring. Going from 2 to 3 was heartbreaking. All those rabbit holes - an open world but you couldn't really go anywhere. Base games get boring fast because there isn't so much to do. I don't know what direction 4 will go but I'm still hopeful that it will get better. I like some parts of it a lot as a place to start.
I have to disagree with you there. While I was waiting for TS4 to be released I wanted to prepare myself for "base game shock". You know that feeling of going from a game with a lot of content and EPs to a vanilla base game? I installed just the base game for both TS2 and 3. TS2 kept me completely entertained and while TS3 wasn't as entertaining for me it still has more to do than TS4.
I see so many people saying that TS4 has potential, or as you put it "a place to start". You can't play with potential. While I didn't expect TS4 to feel as complete as a game that is a few years old I didn't expect it to be so empty and shallow.
I was really looking forward to the release of TS4 and I feel so let down.
"People really love to explore 'failure states. In fact, the failure states are really much more interesting than the success states." ~ Will Wright
I love WA, one of my favorites. When it was first released I made Rene Dupree, my fearless explorer who had to have mummy snacks in her knapsack due to extreme cowering in the presence of mummies, lol. The only tomb I never made it through was Abu Simbel. The only reason I stopped with the exploring is the Pangu's axe disappeared from her inventory which made me really upset.
I am re-discovering the exploration of tombs with my adventurous explorer, Cairo Firenze, CK213's cutie.
I just can't see S4 having any kind of ep, game pack, whatever you call it, quite like WA. There was just so much involved with that ep.
My Pangu's axe disappeared too And it was such a mission to acquire it in the first place. Sad, sad day for my Sim when that happened. I hadn't even had a chance to break the boulders in the other worlds yet
I wish the sims 3 would WORK for me then maybe I'd go back and play. I really enjoy all of them and still play sims 2 sometimes and I was planning to play 3 until the gamepack was released and play with some stuff I hadn't tried yet but no luck, crashed every single time I got into it. Very frustrating
When sims 2 came out, I never went back to sims 1. When sims 3 came out, I never went back to sims 2, although I thought about it. When sims 4 came out I played for 3 months and went right back to sims 3. I've never been so bored and unimpressed with a sims base game before.
... I run the game with 26 mods in it most of which function as fixes and maintenance/corruption-prevention and the other bunch augment and increase the gameplay giving me options that should've been there. So in a sense, I don't play TS3, I play a sort of TS3.5...
Well then I must be playing TS3.5.5.5 because I have more tan 260 mods in my game... but not because the game was unplayable (I played base/vainilla game for two years and had tons of fun) but because they make the game to my taste and I think it is plainly legitimate (why not?) and speaks about TS3 potential (that IS potential) with these mods (all for free) I got all the gameplay I could be missing from TS2 and more, and I have my open world and all that it means in gameplay, fun and posibilities
TS4 has to run a great deal to catch TS3, but I´m doing it, I have more tan 26 mods already for it and I will put a ton more if it turns the game to my taste, but... I can´t mod the lack of toddlers, I can´t mod the loading screens, I can´t mod losing control of the sims left behind when going somewhere with part of the household, I can´t mod the colour wheel, let alone CASt... still waiting for the WOW feature that makes me forget all that, be it EA´s or Custom mod
I can play at last TS2 TS3 and TS4 So great that toddlers are here!!!
Go back and play 2 or 3 base game only. No mods or cc allowed. They were boring. Going from 2 to 3 was heartbreaking. All those rabbit holes - an open world but you couldn't really go anywhere. Base games get boring fast because there isn't so much to do. I don't know what direction 4 will go but I'm still hopeful that it will get better. I like some parts of it a lot as a place to start.
I have to disagree with you there. While I was waiting for TS4 to be released I wanted to prepare myself for "base game shock". You know that feeling of going from a game with a lot of content and EPs to a vanilla base game? I installed just the base game for both TS2 and 3. TS2 kept me completely entertained and while TS3 wasn't as entertaining for me it still has more to do than TS4.
I see so many people saying that TS4 has potential, or as you put it "a place to start". You can't play with potential. While I didn't expect TS4 to feel as complete as a game that is a few years old I didn't expect it to be so empty and shallow.
I was really looking forward to the release of TS4 and I feel so let down.
Sorry to hear you are so disappointed. I really struggled with TS3. There were things I loved but a lot I missed. I was always a little sad about some of the features that I felt were game changers and honestly still can't believe they never "fixed" or brought back.
I've been enjoying TS4 and don't feel it is empty and shallow at all. I wouldn't buy another EP, game pack or anything if I wasn't enjoying it. I agree that you can't play with potential. My point is that I'm enjoying it as it is right this minute and see potential for it to get better from here. TS3, for me, was fine. I wasn't in love but liked it enough to hang in there with it. It didn't have a lot of bugs and it ran fine on my computer. I just never got connected to my sims in 3 like I did in 2. I am connected and care about them more in 4 than in 3 so far. For me, it is worth moving forward. I can understand why someone wouldn't want to if they feel like you do.
I booted up Sims 3 last night as I haven't been very impressed with Sims 4, since its release. I thought that I would play Sims 3 for hours like I used to, you know with the open world, toddlers etc. I was SO wrong. I literally had to shut the game off after 2 minutes because everything just seemed so archaic at this point! The Sims 4 definitely needs improvement, but last night was a total wake up call. I can't go back anymore!
Looks like I'm stuck between a rock and a dull place
I actually did the same thing last night, lol. I reinstalled sims 3 and all the EP's that I had for it which is late night, ambitions, seasons, generations and superstar.
I realized as I started playing that I shouldn't have installed the EP's. it sounds weird considering but it was too much content. Too much to do, I wouldn't focus on what I wanted to do with that specific sim. Should she do an active career, a challenge, a family? Finally I just turned it off. The old style graphics bugged my eyes a bit too.
So four is more simple for a player like myself, i guess. I'll limit how many EPs I allow. I really just need the bugs fixed from the last patch. I really enjoyed the game up until the December bug patch.
Also as I made my sim, I realized how much I miss CAS. I wish they would add this back. Along with favorites. The grumpy trait (I missed that one!)
And the slider to set life stages how you want them, that sure was nice.
I went back to TS3 and had a great time, but there is a slight adjustment period as my eyes have been burned by TS4 high color saturation graphics and soft blur textures and effects. It makes TS3 seem all the more gritty in comparison.
Also the TS4 base game is smooth and quick. That will most likely change as the EPs pile on with more townies from all the different neighborhoods and their stats pile up, not to mention all the CC and mods I will be adding.
I am currently distracted from TS3 as I play and test CC and mods for TS4. That's the only enjoyment I am getting from the game, besides making sims.
Comments
I love this attitude about the games and I wish more people would see it like that. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I just am worried people are going to give up on TS4 too fast and it won't be good for the franchise. I completely agree this game should have been delayed for another year or so. They could have kept churning out TS3 content in the store in the meantime.
I completely agree with you about TS4 leaving out many features and some are glaringly stupid decisions on their part. Whose genius idea was it to leave out toddlers and family trees?! Crazy. I loved The Sims 3 for all those years though the past year of it I got antsy mainly in anticipation of TS4. I am thrilled you find TS3 full of life. I still have it installed and don't plan on uninstalling just yet. I like to go back to past sims games every now and then. Maybe if I go back to my TS3 simmies here and there I will play more than 15 minutes lol. Anyway, us simmers are a passionate bunch which is awesome. There is no other gaming franchise like The Sims and there never will be. I just really hope EA can add those must-have features to this game and get the fans coming back.
Well, let's see. I think the last estimate was that the game has sold over a million copies or so. Even if only a fraction of the people who bought it feel disappointed, and another fraction of those are bored or otherwise tired of this game and post on this forum, that's still a heck of a lot of "this thread again" posts you can look forward to. Especially considering how many people are disappointed with the game! LOL
Where are we going, and why am I in this hand basket?!
As for TS4, I can't see it as a new game at all. The core of TS4 screams TS1/TS2 left and right, nothing really screams out "This is a brand new game". A sequel at the very least should maintain the status quo, augment what was already there and/or innovate. Don't get me wrong, I'd be all for a The Sims 2 Reboot if they could execute it right, but it was named The Sims 4, so I was expecting an actual sequel/continuation of the series. I'm happy to skip TS4 completely as I don't feel I'm missing out on much if I don't have my play style anymore, but I'm not by any means abandoning it. I love the franchise. The only difference this time is, I'm going to wait quite a bit, I'm not going to buy anything that comes out in hopes of it getting better. I'll sit and watch the direction this game takes and not gamble my money. If by some miracle they get their act together, great, I'll catch up. But I'll have that ease of mind of knowing that I'm going to buy something I'm definitely going to enjoy, as opposed to buying EPs/SPs the second they come out.
All of these pictures look amazing! I also used cc in TS3 & the sims looked fabulous! It's a completely different art style than TS4, but I am ready to move on.
My game looks good too, but if I had a game like your's I wouldn't leave it either.
The same with mods! There are so many, I find out often of a mod out there that I 'need' to have. I've got one to stop the routing failure, I've got one to stop foot tapping, got one to adjust the lighting in the game, got one to stop the baby from being put on the floor between interactions with the changing table.... got a load of Nraas mods and looking at more, so many tweaks big and small to allow me to take this game and make it mine.
I know what's in the game and I know what isn't coming. I can just relax about it and enjoy it. No more wondering if a patch or EP is going to break something. It is a very comfortable place to be and I love it more every time I play. There is far too much for me to do that I have not done in this game that I don't really need to spend my time stressing about 4. I wish the best for it, always. I hope someday it becomes a game which I can fall in love with and truly enjoy but I'm ok waiting until that happens. If it does. If I didn't like 3 or if it didn't run like it does on my computer, I'd be a whole lot more vocal than I am now about what changes I'd love to see for 4.
To be honest I am not very happy with EA at this time. I feel like the woman who gets to watch the love of her life prance about with a much too young woman making an absolute behind of himself while my heart breaks. It feels like the Sims 4 is EA's midlife crisis and doing all sorts of weird plum.
I don't really know what to write here,
so here, have an internet hug
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have to disagree with you there. While I was waiting for TS4 to be released I wanted to prepare myself for "base game shock". You know that feeling of going from a game with a lot of content and EPs to a vanilla base game? I installed just the base game for both TS2 and 3. TS2 kept me completely entertained and while TS3 wasn't as entertaining for me it still has more to do than TS4.
I see so many people saying that TS4 has potential, or as you put it "a place to start". You can't play with potential. While I didn't expect TS4 to feel as complete as a game that is a few years old I didn't expect it to be so empty and shallow.
I was really looking forward to the release of TS4 and I feel so let down.
So much true!!!
I can play at last TS2 TS3 and TS4 So great that toddlers are here!!!
http://nl.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=2269338
alliesim02
The Scott Legacy
Well then I must be playing TS3.5.5.5 because I have more tan 260 mods in my game... but not because the game was unplayable (I played base/vainilla game for two years and had tons of fun) but because they make the game to my taste and I think it is plainly legitimate (why not?) and speaks about TS3 potential (that IS potential) with these mods (all for free) I got all the gameplay I could be missing from TS2 and more, and I have my open world and all that it means in gameplay, fun and posibilities
TS4 has to run a great deal to catch TS3, but I´m doing it, I have more tan 26 mods already for it and I will put a ton more if it turns the game to my taste, but... I can´t mod the lack of toddlers, I can´t mod the loading screens, I can´t mod losing control of the sims left behind when going somewhere with part of the household, I can´t mod the colour wheel, let alone CASt... still waiting for the WOW feature that makes me forget all that, be it EA´s or Custom mod
I can play at last TS2 TS3 and TS4 So great that toddlers are here!!!
Sorry to hear you are so disappointed. I really struggled with TS3. There were things I loved but a lot I missed. I was always a little sad about some of the features that I felt were game changers and honestly still can't believe they never "fixed" or brought back.
I've been enjoying TS4 and don't feel it is empty and shallow at all. I wouldn't buy another EP, game pack or anything if I wasn't enjoying it. I agree that you can't play with potential. My point is that I'm enjoying it as it is right this minute and see potential for it to get better from here. TS3, for me, was fine. I wasn't in love but liked it enough to hang in there with it. It didn't have a lot of bugs and it ran fine on my computer. I just never got connected to my sims in 3 like I did in 2. I am connected and care about them more in 4 than in 3 so far. For me, it is worth moving forward. I can understand why someone wouldn't want to if they feel like you do.
I actually did the same thing last night, lol. I reinstalled sims 3 and all the EP's that I had for it which is late night, ambitions, seasons, generations and superstar.
I realized as I started playing that I shouldn't have installed the EP's. it sounds weird considering but it was too much content. Too much to do, I wouldn't focus on what I wanted to do with that specific sim. Should she do an active career, a challenge, a family? Finally I just turned it off. The old style graphics bugged my eyes a bit too.
So four is more simple for a player like myself, i guess. I'll limit how many EPs I allow. I really just need the bugs fixed from the last patch. I really enjoyed the game up until the December bug patch.
Also as I made my sim, I realized how much I miss CAS. I wish they would add this back. Along with favorites. The grumpy trait (I missed that one!)
And the slider to set life stages how you want them, that sure was nice.
Also the TS4 base game is smooth and quick. That will most likely change as the EPs pile on with more townies from all the different neighborhoods and their stats pile up, not to mention all the CC and mods I will be adding.
I am currently distracted from TS3 as I play and test CC and mods for TS4. That's the only enjoyment I am getting from the game, besides making sims.
Have the mix bug fixed, then bug fixed again to fix the bug fix bugs and voila You have pixelcrack.
Sims 4 Sims are actually IMHO the best in the series, the world they inhabit, however is not even close.
Beautiful, some of the reasons why I love Sims3!